Smart Cities – What’s In It For Citizens?

Smart cities have the potential to save residents up to 125 hours every year, according to a study conducted by Juniper Research for Intel. If cities across the globe adopt and deploy smart city technology and services, people can spend more time on vacation, exercising and feeling less depressed and anxious.

In addition to this, the report ranks the top 20 Smart Cities worldwide by the following criteria: mobility, health care, public safety and productivity. Chicago, New York and San Francisco, London, and Singapore are the world’s leading cities integrating Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and connected services according to the study.

Imagine a world where all cities are smart and able to thrive as part of a cohesive effort between municipalities, businesses and citizens. Many cities are now becoming smarter, adopting strategies to address a growing need to improve their ‘liveability’. Here, we look at leading cities in this regard, exploring how efforts to improve mobility, public safety, public healthcare and productivity are being confronted as they transition to a smarter, more connected environment.

Mobility – an integrated IoT-enabled infrastructure of intelligent traffic systems, directed parking, city open data, cashless payments and safer roads can save up to 60 hours a year to drivers otherwise stuck in their cars (Case study – San Fransicso).

Health – smart cities with connected digital health services can play a big role in creating efficiencies with potential lifesaving benefits for both patients and caregivers. Better prevention through smart monitoring, and more efficient delivery of healthcare through solutions such as telemedicine result in higher healthcare quality saving citizens almost 10 hours a year (Case study – San Seoul).

Public safety – improvements in public safety; in particular emergency response, can have substantial time-benefits for citizens, nearly 35 hours per year. In addition to this, the intangible benefits of smart cities would result in 4 million citizens leading happier lives every year (Case Study – New York City).